The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for splitting fiber optic signals which signals, as known to those skilled in the art, are signals transmitted through optical fibers.
Numerous fiber optic signal splitters are known to the art, and numerous apparatus and devices are known to the art for organizing and storing spliced optical fibers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,185, entitled APPARATUS FOR STORING AND ORGANIZING SPLICED OPTICAL FIBERS, patented Dec. 20, 1994, Eric J. Hermsen et al., inventors, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, discloses such apparatus. This patent is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein and is referred to hereinafter as "the '185 patent."
Although the prior art is replete with many devices, it is believed that there is a need for a new and improved apparatus for and methods of splitting fiber optic signals and for new and improved combination apparatus for splitting fiber optic signals and a splice tray or splice apparatus.